Blogito ergo sum! Actually, as N.T. Wright averred, "'Amor, ergo sum:' I am loved, therefore I am." Among other things, I am a Roman Catholic deacon. This is a public cyberspace in which I seek to foster Christian discipleship in the late modern milieu in the diakonia of koinonia and in the recognition that "the Eucharist is the only place of resistance to annihilation of the human subject."

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Updates, thoughts, things, and trajectory

When maintaining a blog you never lack for material. Events of the past two weeks have been mind-boggling. It would be utterly impossible to keep up with hurricanes, earthquakes, threats of war, a badly divided country that seems to grow more fractious each day with no healing in sight. Rather than blog, I've been posting longer than usual status updates on Facebook. In truth, I'd rather blog. Why? Because I can thoughtfully write out what I have to say and put it out there, so to speak. People can take it for what it it's worth. I can consider thoughtful responses rather than reactionary diatribes.

As I attempt to wade back into posting regularly here, it's important to mention that I am involved in another on-line endeavor. It is a collaborative blog initiated by Mike O'Brien, who is an attorney in Salt Lake City. It is called The Boy Monk, which is a reference to Mike's upbringing. In addition to Mike and I, the other regular contributors are Ms. Jean Welch Hill, also an attorney, who serves the Diocese of Salt Lake City (my local church) as Government Liaison and Director of the Diocesan Peace and Justice Commission, Dr. Gary Topping, a great historian and long-time friend and dedicated reader of this blog for pretty much its entire existence, Jim Larson, a scientist and science teacher, and Nick Blaylock, a dancer, artist and teacher. All of us are here in Utah, which is one of the things I think makes this effort quite special, if I may use a word that is typically employed ironically or sarcastically.

Pope Francis addressing a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress, 25 September 2015

In his speech to Congress, the Holy Father highlighted four citizens of the U.S. who helped shape the "fundamental values which will endure forever in the spirit of the American people." People who, to cite the Pontiff again, "offer us a way of seeing and interpreting reality" and whose memories we should honor in order to be inspired, especially in the midst of conflicts like the ones we are currently experiencing. Of the four people Francis spoke about two were Catholics. Interestingly, both Catholics converted as young adults: Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. The other two, Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were Protestants.

Dr. Topping's post today is on Abraham Lincoln's stance on slavery vis-à-vis the U.S. Civil War: "A Catholic Looks at Abraham Lincoln." It is a provocative piece. My initial contribution will be on Thomas Merton, whose life and writings have been very formative for me and many other Catholics in the United States and beyond. It will be interesting to read the other contributions.

Thinking about Dr. King and the civil rights movement, it bears noting that yesterday, in addition to being the second anniversary of Pope Francis's speech to Congress, it was the sixtieth anniversary of the day Little Rock Central High School was racially integrated. On that day federal troops from the 101st Airborne Division escorted 9 black teenagers to school. Those nine teens are known to history as "the Little Rock 9." Yesterday was also my oldest daughter's twenty-first birthday.

2 comments:

It's a privilege and a pleasure. I enjoyed writing my post on Pater Tom. I've missed posting here. This is where I really feel at home on-line. This blog is from my heart. I am sure my participation in The Boy Monk will prove another fruitful outlet.

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About Me

I am husband and Dad to six lovely children. I am also a Roman Catholic deacon of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. I married in 1993, became a Dad for the first time in 1994 and most recently in 2011 (quite a spread). I was was ordained in 2004. After serving as a deacon for 11 years at The Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City (8 years before I was ordained for a total of 19 years), I am now assigned to St Olaf's Parish in Bountiful, Utah. I am a graduate of the University of Utah and the Institute in Pastoral Ministry at St. Mary's University of Minnesota. I am currently a candidate for a Doctorate in Ministry (D.Min) at Mount Angel Seminary, Oregon.

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Madeleine Delbrêl

"We fashion the immortal being we are through our choices. Through our choices we bring the man in us to the fullness of life or to the worst of human suffering. At the hour of his death each human being has become either a person who will live with God forever, or who will be without God forever" Madeleine Delbrêl

St. Paul

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom. 12:1-2)

C.S. Lewis

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one'” Lewis

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"It is not the sins of weakness, but the sins of strength that matter" Bonhoeffer